


Fine Line

by EmotionalSupportPuma



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:54:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22136635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmotionalSupportPuma/pseuds/EmotionalSupportPuma
Summary: There's a fine line between love and hate, between Scarlett and Nisha.
Relationships: Nisha/Scarlett (Borderlands)
Kudos: 9





	Fine Line

When you're a kid people tell you hate is a strong word, to use it sparingly. But really hate is just a word like any other. Scarlett used it liberally, whether it stuck or slowly petered down the wall into something a little less potent. Sometimes she hated something with a passion and she would certainly let everyone within earshot know. 

Along that same train of thought, Scarlett hated Nisha. No, really, she did. So what if there were times that she loved Nisha? She hated that fact too. There was just so much about the chaotic, violent, pushes-all-the-wrong-buttons cowgirl  _ to _ drive her insane. It made the fact that Scarlett purposefully sought her out for company just another item on the list of things to hate.

She found solace in the fact that their interactions seemed to vex Nisha even worse than they did herself. From time to time Scarlett let herself wonder if  _ all _ of the feelings were so reciprocated. Even if somewhere deep down in that cold, black heart of hers, Nisha felt something softer than disgust for Scarlett, she knew it would kill the other woman to admit it. Which, of course, meant that getting the words out of Nisha became her personal goal. 

From planting a bug in Nisha's echo, so that she could know what jobs she was going out on for "accidental" meetings, to purposefully jabbing salt into wounds to instigate a fight. Eventually the tension would reach a boiling point. Either she would break down and admit to the feelings, or she would finally snap and kill Scarlett. Another inevitably that she both loved and hated. She knew that one day she was going to die at Nisha's hands. 

She hoped they at least had some fun before getting to that point.

___

"Would you shut up and let me think for a minute?" Nisha snarled and ran a hand through her hair, hat long since lost in the commotion.

"Wow, never thought I'd live to see the day."

"Hush!"

The day had taken a turn for the worst when Scarlett opted to visit Nisha on her own, instead of bringing her entire ship as a back up. She'd thought that the job she was hijacking would be simple. In and out, get the mark and return with proof. Of course, Nisha wasn't about to just let Scarlett steal a good job out from under her nose without a fight. They practically raced each other to the kill.

Which, admittedly, Nisha made sure she was the one who got to paint the wall with the man's brains. Scarlett showed up just seconds afterwards and managed to nab his signature belt buckle first. At that point it would have been a race to see who still had it by the time they got out of the stronghold, except that suddenly there were a startlingly large amount of henchmen looming around. Either the ringleader found a way to send a distress signal before he croaked, or they heard the gunshot.

Regardless, the two of them were going to have to work together if they wanted to get back out alive. Scarlett figured that meant it was actually  _ her  _ job to get them out. The Lawbringer was many things, but a navigator wasn't one of them. Nisha could shoot them a path, but she was going to have to point out the way first. A more prudent pirate might have used it as an opportunity to get rid of a rival, but Scarlett wasn't about to let the most amusing thing she'd had all year be blown to pieces.

Loud, angry voices and accompanying footsteps drowned out her train of thought. Scarlett moved on instinct, grabbing the back of Nisha's vest and pulling her through the nearest door. An unassuming supply closet that locked from the inside. She couldn't have found a more perfect hiding spot if she tried. 

Nisha snarled low in her throat, visibly furious about the turn of events, but wise enough to keep her complaints unheard. The sound of people searching grew ever louder. Scarlett used the distraction to press Nisha against the wall, pinning her with hips and making sure to cover her mouth with a hand.

"Shh, don't get us caught now."

The response she got was a glare with enough heat that Scarlett thought it could probably set fire to anything particularly flammable. If she was being honest with herself, it was a surprise she hadn't been shot already. Perhaps the chances of being found were overriding the murderous impulses. Sharp teeth sank into the fleshy part of her hand and it took every ounce of effort not to curse loudly.

"Can you bloody play nice for two minutes, Nish?"

"Fuck. Off." The words were soft, but edged with venom enough to fell an alpha skag.

Oh, Scarlett was certainly toeing the line this time around. The creeping feeling that she was going to be offed in her sleep tonight was enough to make her step away. As she did, Nisha's boot locked around one of her legs. Her one good eye rocketed downwards partially out of surprise and partially out of dread. Whatever was about to happen next couldn't be anything good.

Nisha fisted her hand in the silk of her shirt and yanked Scarlett in close, "I hate you."

Before she could think of a sufficiently snarky response, the world spun around and Scarlett was slammed into the concrete wall with enough force to wind her. It was all she could do to stare down at Nisha with her one good eye and try not to give away how flustered she was. The lawbringer glared back with sharp eyes, something else lurking in their depths.

With the pace of a snail, Nisha leaned up until her breath puffed out on Scarlett's lips. A shiver ran down her spine. This had all the makings of one of her damn fantasies, the ones that had plagued her from the moment they'd met. Except that everything was far more real and sharply in focus. 

Before Scarlett could lean in and seal their lips together, a weight tugged at her hand. The pieces of the puzzle connected instantaneously and yet it still wasn't quickly enough. Nisha backed away with a devilish grin, waving the belt buckle around like a trophy. She darted out the door, slipping through Scarlett's fingers as though she were a handful of sand. 

"Too easy!" The words floated from the open doorway.

Frustration washed over her in a wave of disappointment. Scarlett remained pressed against the wall for another few minutes, struggling to reign in the rapid beating of her heart. She'd fallen for the trick hook, line and sinker. And if she knew Nisha at all, this would be a shame she would never be granted the peace of forgetting.

Scarlett sighed through her teeth even though she was alone now, "Nisha, I  _ hate _ you."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so bad at summaries and honestly I'm not sure how I feel about this piece. Defs could use some work, but hey I like this pairing and I'll probs do some more for them eventually.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoyed, and any n all comments are greatly appreciated!


End file.
